Back on schedule, right? Almost forgot about it... but I didn't!
Personally, I think this is a cute chapter, but you'll find out why soon enough. Tell me if I'm right ;).
Enjoy!
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“How is she doing?”
“Well… she’s still asleep, must have been exhausted from what happened to her.”
“Yeah, but I mean, do you think she is alright?”
Steven shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Her feet will be okay, in time, they’re just burned. But I don’t know if there’s anything else that’s…” He glanced over at the pile of hay at the other side of the stable, where June was lying on a blanket, her eyes closed. “I don’t know if she’s hurt anywhere else. She was pretty shaken-up yesterday.”
“What do you think happened?” Nadia asked in a whisper.
“I’m… not sure.”
“Will we tell her?”
“Tell me what?” June said, breaking the whispering silence. She opened her eyes. “I’m awake…”
“Oh.” Awkwardly, Nadia and Steven came closer. She didn’t say anything, rather unsure about what to say. Steven was a little better.
“How’s your feet?” he asked.
June nodded. “A little better.” They still hurt a lot, but less than they had last night. The cold water had helped. Though she’d wish Terrance was here to help her; he’d simply make a potion that would heal it in a flash.
As she tried to get on her feet, both Steven and Nadia immediately came to help her, taking her arms and supporting her.
“It’s better if you don’t… You should rest for a while.”
“I have to find Terrance,” she said.
“You’re in no shape to walk anywhere.”
“But-”
“You have to stay here,” Steven said and Nadia nodded in agreement as they placed her down on the hay again. “It’s better if you stay here.”
For a second, she stared at them, surprised. Her brother seemed decisive, but Nadia was throwing an occasional look at her that told her something was wrong. “What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“What did you want to tell me?”
She bit her lip. “I-I… Steven?” She glanced at her brother, hoping for him to take over.
He hesitated as well. “It’s just that… We heard something this morning.”
“This morning?” June wondered—how late was it? How long had she slept? She shook the question out of her mind though, as it didn’t matter. “What did you hear?”
“Last night... there was a big fire, and a house burned down. But they say… they say that there were priests there, that they were hunting werewolves. They even took one with them to the Cathedral.”
“Oh...” June muttered.
“Yeah, and I went to investigate, but the Cathedral is closed—the doors are locked. They’re never locked, not during the festival!” Nadia said.
“So we were wondering, were you there?”
The both of them looked down on June, waiting for an answer. She didn’t meet their gaze, but stared down at her hands, trying to think of a good lie. She never planned to run into them, she had no idea what she would tell them if they would ask this question…
“Come on, Sarah, please tell us the truth.”
“Y-Yes,” she admitted. “Yes, I was there.”
They stayed surprisingly calm as they asked, “Why? Are you a… are you a werewolf?”
Unsure of what to do, June looked up at them. They wanted to trust her, she could see it in their eyes. But clasped in her hand, Nadia carried a small crucifix, just in case. With her thumb, she rubbed over the old, battered surface.
June took a deep breath. “I’m… not a werewolf,” she said. “They… they took me. Marc was leading the attack to get me back.”
Nadia exhaled, relieved, and managed a little smile. Steven seemed to be relieved by the news as well, though still concerned. “Who took you?” he asked.
“Blake.” It was the first name that came to mind.
“The guy in the Cathedral? I thought werewolves couldn’t-”
“Me too. I thought he was my friend. But he wasn’t. He forced me to go with him, to that house. And Terrance too…”
“Why?” Steven asked.
“I-I…” She sighed. “I think… I’ll have to show you.” Slowly, she raised her left hand and, holding the locket tightly in her right, she concentrated and let the magic energy flow through her arm. White and blue sparks came from her palm where she gathered the energy. Nadia and Steven watched in stunned amazement how she performed the spell for ten seconds before closing her hand. “I can do magic,” she said. “That’s why they wanted me…”
“You’re a magician?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“A-And… Terrance, is he…?”
“He’s an alchemist,” she explained. “A famous one, the best there is. We were travelling together, but the werewolves, they must have noticed. They wanted to use us to fight the priests… I… We… We refused. Marc showed up just in time to save us.”
“Is Marc your bodyguard?” Nadia asked.
“Yes.”
“And what about Maya? Is she magic too? Is she your… daughter?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “They still have her captive, I’m not sure where she is. I have to find her, to save her. But I have to find Terrance first; he had a plan. We got separated last night, and I don’t know where he is…”
“Where do you think he could have gone?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He said he’d find me, but I don’t think he expected me to run into you.”
“So what then? How will you find him—or he find you…?”
“Well, I have to go someplace where he can find me. Outside.” She wanted to get up again, but quickly, Steven stopped her.
“You’re in no shape to do that,” he said. “We can look for him instead. You just stay here and rest your feet. Do you have… I don’t know, do you have some kind of spell to heal them?”
“Usually, Terrance does…” she muttered. “But maybe I can try something…” After all, through the locket, she had Maya’s powers. She remembered how Terrance had told her about the strength of the little girl—surely she would be able to heal some burns, right? She would just have to imagine them gone, and they would be. And so could June.
As Steven and Nadia tried to think of the best locations to search for Terrance though, June couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t thought to get help of any kind from anyone, yet here they were, ready to help her. Still, a voice in the back of her mind was saying, “liar”. They had asked for the truth, yet she had met their eye and lied through her teeth. All they wanted was to help her… and she lied to them.
But she had to lie; if she’d told them the truth, they would have killed her. They’d never have helped her!
“Isn’t that what Terrance would say?”
She grunted. It was. Terrance always rationalized his lies, he twisted and turned the facts until they sounded okay. After all, he lied to protect her feelings, to make sure she wouldn’t do anything dangerous, to keep her safe… and she hated it.
“Then why do you lie to them?”
Because she had to, just like Terrance had to. Lives were at stake, she couldn’t afford to lose. She might hurt their feelings a little, but in the end they’d be better off. If they would never catch onto the lie, they would never even know it happened. She had no choice, it was best for them…
“Just like it’s best for Terrance, right?”
She hesitated,, unsure what to tell the voice in her head. “N-No.”
“I’m sorry?” Steven asked.
“No,” she said. “I am… I-I lied to you.”
“What do you mean? Are you feeling guilty that you didn’t tell us earlier? Don’t worry about that, you hardly knew us—what does it matter that we didn’t know you were a magician?”
“I’m not a magician.”
“You’re not?” Nadia said, surprised. “But what about that spell?”
She sighed. “That wasn’t my magic, it’s Maya’s. She is the magician, she’s the one with the power. She isn’t my daughter—not Terrance’s either. She’s the daughter of the Royal Mage.”
“What… What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I lied,” she told them. “I lied about everything. I’m not a magician and my name isn’t Sarah. My name is June Bailey. I’m… I’m the fiancée to Prince Christian Everin. Or rather, I was. Marc and I were on our way to the Palace when we met Terrance. He was a werewolf and he bit me.”
“Terrance is a werewolf too?!”
She nodded. “A-And Maya as well.”
“Marc?”
“He's human. He's helping us, protecting me... We're not evil,” she quickly told them. “We're not like the werewolves here. We just want to survive, nothing else. We don't want to kill anyone, you have to believe me. But Terrance, he had a plan, and the werewolves caught on a-and the priests attacked...”
“S-So... you're... a werewolf?” Nadia asked, and she clenched the small crucifix in her fist.
“I'm not dangerous, you have to believe me,” June said. “I'm not a demon. I'm just...” She sighed. “I'm just like you, but with a tail.”
“A tail?”
Not quite sure if this was the right thing to do, she pulled the silver ring off her finger; she gasped as a shudder went down her spine, and her wolf ears and tail shot out. Nadia jumped back from surprise, and Steven's hand immediately reached for a small knife in his belt.
“Please,” she quickly said. “I'm not dangerous, I promise you! I don't want to hurt you, I just want to find Terrance.”
“He's a werewolf too—he's got a tail like that as well?” Nadia asked carefully.
She nodded. “And Maya too. We hide them with magic...”
“All werewolves have that?”
“Something like that, yes. Though... yesterday, something happened. The other werewolves turned into wolves. Real wolves. They were... scary,” she said.
“But you and Terrance didn't?”
“No.”
Nadia turned to her brother. “Then the priests must have taken Terrance to the Cathedral! I mean, people said they took a werewolf to the Cathedral, and that he looked like a man—that must have been him!”
“So he's in the Cathedral?” June asked, worried.
“I think so, I don't know... Maybe the door is locked because they want to keep him inside...”
“Nadia,” Steven muttered and pulled her back.
“What?”
“What are you doing?”
Surprised he asked that, she shrugged. “Helping a friend.”
“But she is a werewolf—she just showed us what she is! A-And you’re going to help her?”
“I guess…”
“No,” he decided. “We’re not going to do that. It’s too dangerous.”
“But Steven-”
“I’m your brother, Nadi, and I’m telling you, we’re not risking our heads for this. She’s a werewolf, a demon. You know, the kind that used to kill everybody?!”
“But she’s not like that. I mean, look at her!” She gestured at June, who was still lying on the ground. “She had us convinced she was a magician, she had our trust, but she wanted to come clean. That must mean she’s good, right? I mean, who would do that?”
“It could be a trick…”
“Not one I ever heard of,” she said. “She had us convinced already, so why do this?”
Steven grumbled. “I don’t know. But that doesn’t mean I will risk my life for her. I mean, if we help her, what will happen? If the priests catch us breaking out a werewolf, they’ll kill us too!” Quickly, he turned to June. “I’m fine with letting you go. I don’t want to hurt you just as much as you don’t want to hurt us. But you can’t stay here, we can’t risk it. If anyone finds out…”
But his sister took his hand and pleaded with him. “Please,” she said. “Come on, Steven.”
“This is not some adventure, Nadi! This is real!”
“And Terrance could be really hurt!” she answered. “I mean… I know it’s dangerous, and I know you want to keep me safe, but… but we can’t just do nothing.”
He opened his mouth to tell her otherwise, but he couldn’t; in his heart, he knew his sister was right. If June was good—and they were pretty sure she was—Terrance was too. They couldn’t just sit back and see as the priests would kill him.
“Okay,” he sighed. “We’ll help. But… we’ll do it safe, okay Nadia? We are not going to save Terrance, we aren’t going to break him out of prison, we’re not going to fight anyone. We’ll just help Sar—we’ll help June get into the Cathedral. If we see anyone there, we can try to explain it to them.”
“Do you think they’ll believe us?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m actually feeling foolish for believing it myself. But it’s the truth. And we have to try.”
Nadia nodded and smiled. “You’re a good man, Steven.”
“No,” June said gratefully. “You both are.”
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So, am I right? Do you think it's a cute chapter too, the way June told the truth and they helped them anyway?
Also, I like Nadia and Steven as a combo. What do you think?
-VdC